FanX 2015 Day 3

Saturday was the last day of FanX. We had plans to get there early in order to get in line for the South Ballroom for the first three panels of the day. We had a few bumps before we were able to officially head on our way, but we had left early enough that we got our parking beneath the convention center as well as get a good spot in line.

The nice thing this day was that they actually let us in the room about a half hour early. It made me happy because I needed to use the restroom and I was afraid of leaving the line in case we went in. This picture will show you why I was scared as I would have had to have gotten back in line.

The volunteers were really great about letting me back in the room after using the restroom. We sat and waited for the panel to start. The first panel of the day was for Billie Piper. Jared and Camille ended up coming into the room right before it started, as they were going to just get in line for Carrie Fisher, who was next, but the volunteer told them to go on in as not many people were going to leave the room after.

Waiting for Billie Piper in our Loth Hoodies

Billie was great and tried to answer all the questions as best as she could. Sean learned that she was a famous pop star before being on Doctor Who, but I already knew it. She talked about how close her and David Tennant are(he played the Doctor when she was on the show). She also told about how he comes around and it confuses her kid who has started watching the show. He doesn’t quite grasp that he’s not really the Doctor. He also doesn’t understand that the monsters that his Mum is running away from aren’t real. It was quite adorable! I hearing all of her stories!

I love this photo as it shows her cute personality

The panel ended early I felt, but I do know that they were probably wanting to get the Carrie Fisher panel started as soon as possible. This panel had only been announced the day before, because it was thought that she couldn’t do any panels because of her contractual obligations with Star Wars Episode 7. It was going to be a short panel, but it was definitely popular. As people exited, Jared and Camille made their way over to sit by us. I had heard from my sister in law Taylor that the line was very long outside the room, and there didn’t seem to be a chance that they would get in. That turned out to be correct, which made me sad for them, as it was a great panel.

Can you tell we were excited for Carrie Fisher to come out?

Carrie came out and she asked the room if anyone had a Coca Cola she could have. One lady came up and gave her a can of something, but it was definitely not a Coke. A guy near us ran off somewhere and then ran up to the stage with a Coke in hand. Carrie gave him a kiss full on the mouth! The crowd went wile and even his wife(I’m assuming) was laughing and filming it. Camille and I both agreed that if Carrie Fisher kissed our husbands, we would be okay with it!

The panel was only about 20 minutes long. I don’t remember many questions, even though I was laughing the whole time. She did say she couldn’t talk about Episode 7, though she did mention the things she could talk about, which were all things that the news already had put out, such as they filmed in England, Harrison Ford hurt his leg, they had to wear tents to cover themselves from the drones that people would fly over the set. She did not like that she said. She talked about her dog Gary, who goes with her everywhere(he was in our photo), and about how much she loves glitter(she even had some on her eyes!). She was a joy and as charming as ever. She is also very tiny.

I love this image I captured as she doesn’t look like she’s aged and is still Princess Leia(though she is still her).

Her dog Gary with his overly long tongue

It was over too fast and we gave her a standing ovation at the end.

Next panel was for the Lannister twins from Game of Thrones, with Lena Headey(Cersei Lannister) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau(Jaime Lannister). Sean and I are big fans of the show so this was a must for us! Sean had a question he wanted to as so as soon as the Carrie panel was over, he went up front to get in line.

Lena and Nikolaj play twins that are also in a secret relationship with each other, there were of course some questions about it, but in all the panel was kept pretty mild. Sean’s question though was about who they would kill or save from the show, as it’s known for killing a lot of main characters. It wasn’t until the end of them answering that I remembered I was supposed to be filming. I felt(and still feel) terrible, but thankfully I have a husband who is very understanding. The next part of this post has spoilers, so if you don’t want to be spoiled(it is in regards to season 4), then don’t read the rest of this paragraph. Unsurprisingly, Lena said she would save Joffrey, her character’s son. That got a boo from the crowd. Nikolaj said he would save their characters’ father Tywin Lannister. I wish they would have answered who they would kill though.

They also talked about how the relationships off set are great and the cast and crew are really close. Lena talked about how she only reads ahead on the script to see if she will die, but then she only reads her scenes as she likes to wait and watch the show as it’s released and be surprised like the fans are. Lena was adorable and very different from her character that she plays on screen. while Cersei is very regal in the way she carries herself, Lena was very relaxed and even goofy at times, making faces when Nikolaj was answering a question.

I wished that I had been able to meet them, but I was done with photo ops for this convention.

I hadn’t seen all of the Expo floor yet(but I was pretty close to being done), so we went to explore. While we were doing that, we ran into my uncle and cousins. I love that they go to these conventions! My parents aren’t into it, and not geeky like I am. My uncle(my mother’s brother), sometimes jokes that I was born into the wrong family, because he and I are both geeky. It was great to see each other! I was getting hungry, and Camille and I both agreed that the nachos we were seeing people with looked great.

Sean and I shared a nacho together and he convinced me that I did really want a churro(it was fresh!). We went to our usual tables and relaxed while we ate. I met one of the regulars on the Salt Lake Comic Con group and we talked about our photo ops that we had done. Eventually I needed to charge my phone, so Sean and I went to find the charging station to see if we could charge our phone there. Unfortunately it was full. I wasn’t sure it people were actually using the outlets or just sleeping on the couches. Some people were sitting on the floor, but I wasn’t going to do that. My phone wasn’t totally dead, so we ended up finishing our exploration of the Expo floor. Sean bought a portable speaker that he couldn’t stop talking about since the day before. I couldn’t decide on the last thing to get myself, but it didn’t help that I was tired and just wanted to sit down.

We left the Expo hall and went upstairs to see if we could find a bench to sit on and a socket to plug our chargers into. We immediately found one and we sat for a few hours while our phones charged and also let our bodies recuperate.

Jared and Camille joined us after a while and I had Sean get me an amazing fresh squeezed lemonade to sip on.

The in laws got out of the panel they were in, so we went to meet them in the Expo hall so that we could purchase tickets for the Dr. Horrible Sing Along Blog Sing Along. We grabbed a quick dinner and went to make any final purchases before the Expo hall closed. I’d had in the back of my mind something I wanted to buy, but Sean wasn’t really into it as much as I was. There was a booth that was selling these wearable “pet” dragons. I went back to the booth to take a look one last time an I fell in love with one of them. I told Sean this was what I had decided on. I bought a beautiful adult blue and black dragon with black eyes that glows in the dark.

As I was buying him, the song “Don’t Stop Believing” came on from the speaker booth. I said that I love that song, and the guy ringing me up said that he had a vinyl cover signed by the original band members. I took this as a sign that I needed to name my dragon Journey. Journey hasn’t left my side since. He’s currently chilling on top of my big water mug.

We went to go sit at our tables again, but decided to attend the panel in the room before the sing along. We realized though that they were going to clear the room, so we left right at the beginning. It was a great idea, as the line was already forming. We texted the in laws to let them know that they should come get in line with us. It got really packed as they zig zagged the line back and forth and kept asking us to squish in. At one point I had to leave the line to use the restroom and it was a nice relief from the heat I was experiencing.

Finally they let us into the room. Our tickets were also raffle tickets. Sean and I purchased some additional ones with our leftover cash. All the cash went to charity. The sing along was as great as usual. It’s my favorite way to end the convention. There’s something great about singing with 800 strangers! Afterwards they did the raffle. We didn’t win anything, but my mother in law and father in law did. They won a necklace that said “Everyone’s a Hero” which is a song from Dr. Horrible.

Afterwards we went to The Cheesecake Factory to continue our tradition of getting dessert after the con ends.

It’s always bitter sweet when it’s over. I love being able to meet new people and be among like minded fans. But it’s nice to be able to rest afterwards, especially when my feet get swollen from all the walking.

After a days rest, I’m feeling back to normal and ready to face the real world again. I’m missing FanX already though, and can’t wait for September’s Salt Lake Comic Con, which will be an adventure since I’ll have a 5 month old by then!

Hi I'm Jessica! I'm a mother, wife, gamer, cosplayer, and all around fangirl. I love being a Geek Mom because I get to share many worlds with my daughter. Check out my about page to learn more about us!